Mount Airy group collects over 1,300 toys for Toys for Tots

A local Marine Corp League detachment collected more than 1,300 toys over the Christmas holiday for area families in need.

The L/Cpl. Robert W. Deane detachment collected the toys — which included 14 bicycles ­— and about $3,000 in cash donations, as part of the Frederick County branch of the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots program, said Paul Gunther, former Toys for Tots coordinator for the group.

The Mount Airy detachment, which has about 60 members, collected their donations in less than two months. The toys were distributed to area families who requested gifts by the Marine Corps Reserve Center in Frederick.

The national program looks to help needy children experience Christmas by providing them with gifts for the holiday.

In 2011, the Mount Airy group collected about 1,100 toys and $1,800 in cash. The Frederick County Toys for Tots program was able to distribute almost 30,000 toys to about 5,600 children in 2012, according to its website.